Flushing device



Sqwit. 11?, 1935. 0. W. BROWN FLUSHING DEVICE Filed July 28, 1952 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 5 03 UNITE STAT .11 FFEE FLUSHING DEVICE Charles Watkins Brown, San Diego, Calif.

Application July 28, 1932, Serial No. 625,417

11 Claims. ((31. 137-93) This invention relates to no-tank flush valve Referring particularly to Figures l and 2, l mechanisms for closets and the like and has pardesignates the main body portion of a no-tank ticular relation to such a valve mechanism which flush device having an inlet connection I i and an will deliver a plurality of quantities of water, outlet connection i2.

selectively to the closet for flushing. An important feature of this invention is the 5 In times of drought and in cities and towns provision of a single flush valve having a chamber Where there is a limited water supply, it is neceswith a movable Wall connected to the valve to sary to effect every possible economy in the use move it in its opening and closing action. The of water. Investigation of the uses of water has upper portion of the main body portion is proshown that one of the greatest uses of water is vided with a chamber 53 having a movable Wall 10 for closet flushing purposes. It has also been in the form of a piston l4 which is connected by a determined, by experiment, that much of the valve stem l5 to a valve 6, The valve i6 is norwater used in closet flushing is in excess of the mally seated on a valve seat ll in the main body needs and consequently could be saved. member it].

In many of the closet flushing devices in com- B twe n the pist n l4 and the valve 16 and at 15 mon use, the construction is such that not only one side, is an inlet opening I8 which extends to is more than a sufficient amount of water dethe inlet connection l I already described. Belivered to perform the flushing operation, but the low the valve i6 is an opening which extends to operator has no means of controlling the amount and through the outlet connection l2, already 20 of water which is to beused. In these devices described. 7 20 the amount used is always the same and is more Above the main body member it are located than necessary in more than half the times operthe control devices. These control devices proated. vide control mechanism for quickly causing the The primary object of this invention is the provalve #6 to open, and to cause the same to close vision of an improved closet flushing device. and stop the flush Operation, after a sufficient 25 Another object of the invention is the provision a d selective predetermined amount of water has of an improved closet flushing device capable of b released- In the present modification, is delivering any one of a plurality of predetermined illustrated a control mechanism which will reamounts of Water to the closet, under the control lease either one of two different amounts of waof a single operating means. ter, depending upon whether the user desires a 30 A further object of the invention is the prolarger or smaller amount of water released. It vision of an improved closet flushing device capais to be noted also that in the modification illusble of delivering any one of a plurality of predetrated, either of these amounts of water may be termined amounts of water to the closet and havreleased y the m a ua means.

ing a chamber with a movable wall for operating In a y Out y inve t n as lustrated, I 35 the flush valve and a plurality of control valves D OV e a head Casting 59 Which in use is suitably for selectively operating the flush valve by varysecured to the main body member it] by any suiting the amount of flush water permitted to pass able means such as bolts or screws (not shown).

between opening and closing thereof. Between the main body member ID and the head Other and further objects of the invention will casting a9 is a t b gasket 2a 40 be apparent to those skilled in the art, from a The head casting 19 is provided t an 1 reading of the complete specification and claims. regular recess 2 at its for ard Side, to provide Referring t0 h drawing where I have space for certain parts of the control mechanism trated an embodiment of the invention, be described Figure l is an irregular cross section approxi- Within the recess N is mounted a beucmnk 45 mately on the line i| of Figure 2. a

w lever 22 on the plvot 23. The plvot 23 compnses 235 2,1 cross ectlonal Vlew on the hne a shank 23* (Fig. 1) which extends through the Figure 3 is a f View of the Whole device bottom wall of the head l9 and is provided with a Figures 4 and 5 are fragmental views illustratheadon upper slde 0f the bottom Wall f 5Q ing the action of the adjustable valves in the the head eastlng and about t e shank 23 1s refining operation, threaded a nut 23* which holds the pivot 23 in The same reference characters refer to the p p position 7 same or similar parts throughout the specifica- The bell-crank lever 22 is provided on its outer tion and drawing. 7 extension with an operating handle 24. Within 55 the recess and extending sidewise from the pivot 23 are the double bifurcated arm 22 22 At the rear side of the head casting I9, I provide a boring 25. This boring extends full size nearly to the recess 2| and then by a smaller opening 25 is connected to the recess 2 I. Within this boring 25 is placed the control valve, the operation of which eifects the opening of the flush valve IS.

A cylindrical holder or casing 25 is made sufficiently large to fit snugly, but not too tightly in the boring 25. This casing 25 is provided with a suitable valve seat 2! for a valve 28. The valve 28 has a valve stem 29 on the end of which is an eye 30. The opening 25 is of a suflicient size to permit passage of the eye 32 during the assembling operation. The inner or forward end of the casing 26 is provided with interior threads in which are threaded two rings 3| between which is a packing 32. The stem 29 is kept tight against water leakage by this packing 32. A suitable spring 33 normally tends to keep the valve 28 seated on its seat 21.

The outer or rear end of the casing 25 is retained in place by a plug member 34 which presses on a gasket 35 which rests against the end of the casing 25. The casing 26 is provided with an opening 26 which connects with a passage l9 in the head casting 59. This latter opening opens into the cylinder chamber l3.

On the opposite side of the valve 28 is an opening 26 in the wall of the casing 26. This opening 25 opens into the opening W", of the head casting, which latter opens into a passage le in the main body member N]. This latter opening Hi extends to the opening in the outlet connection l2. At this point, attention is called to the fact that if the valve 28 is opened and pressure is applied to the bottom of the piston I4, the contents of the cylinder will empty through the passage In to the outlet connection l2.

Connected to the eye are two links and 31. Each of these links 36, 31 has a loose connection to the bell crank lever 22 and on opposite sides of the pivot 23. The links 35, 3'! are of such a length that when the parts are in normal positions, the connections to the bell crank lever 22 will be at the outer ends of the respective slots 35 31 The slots 36 3? are of sufiicient length so as to permit the full throw of the lever 22 without the respective connections reaching opposite respective slot ends.

On opposite sides of the rear portion of the recess 22 are two borings 38, 39 made from the forward end.

These borings are made dead-end and of such a size as to receive the control valve means which with cooperating parts control the closing of the hush valve and consequently the amount of water provided for flushing.

Within the borings 38, 39 are placed valve casings 40, 4|. These casings 46, 4| have but one open end which is forward. A countersunk packing 42 and threaded ring 43 seat provides a tight joint for the valve stem 44 of the valve 45 and the valve stem 45 of the valve 41.

On the end of the valve stem 46 are heads 48, 48', and on the end of the valve stem 44 are heads 49, 49.

The double bifurcated arms 22, 2'2 engage respectively the heads 49, 49, and 48, 48', just described. The inner bifurcated portion, of each of the double arms 22 22 is split and straddles the valve stem 44 or 46 as the case may be. It will be observed that the movement of the bell crank lever 22 in either direction as far as possible will move one valve 45 or 41 back and will pull the other valve 41 or 45 forward for a purpose to be described.

The casings 45, 4|, are provided with respective openings 4%, M which register with corresponding openings as shown at 59 H), in Figures 1 and 5. These openings 48*, M are on first one side, then the other of the valves 4'! and 45, depending upon which way the handle 24 was last moved.

The casings 40, 4| are provided also with other openings in their respective side walls. These openings I have designated 43 M respectively. The openings and 4| register with openings I9 |9 Adjustable valves 58, 5| are screw threadedly held in the head casting l9. These adjustable valves 55, 5| have openings 55 5| therethrough as shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5. By shifting these valves angularly with a screw driver or other suitable instrument, the amount of water which will pass in a given time for a given pressure, may be controlled and varied to increase or decrease the amount of water which will pass the valve l6 during one operation. The openings 59 5| connect to passages it It as illustrated in Figures 1, 4 and 5. The lower ends of these passages In Hi connect to the inlet opening I8 and receive their water supply therefrom.

I will now describe the operation of my invention.

Let us assume the parts to be in the positions illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The chamber I3 above the piston is filled with water at the service pressure. The inlet connection l8, which is connected to the water supply, has kept the space below the piston 4 and the passage I9 full of water at the service pressure. The piston I4 is therefore balanced. The valve I5 is on its seat I? and is held there by the water pressure. It will be noted that the valve I5 is of smaller cross section than the piston i4.

With the positions of the piston and valve as above set forth, the initial positions of the valves and 41 are immaterial. However, in normal operation one valve 45, for example, will always be on the opposite corresponding side of its duct outlet openings 4 P, 46 from the position of the other.

This is brought about by the fact that whenever the crank arm 22 is moved by the handle 24, the bifurcated extensions 22, 22, move in opposite directions with a consequent movement fill the cylinder at different speeds due to the different restrictive settings of the valves 53 and 5!. One valve as for example the valve 50, is adjusted so that while sufficient water is passing its opening 53 to fill the chamber above the piston i4, and consequently, to close the valve i5, enough water will have passed the valve It to have caused a small flushing of the toilet. Likewise the valve 5| would be set at the time of installation, so that passage to the chamber E3, would be more restricted. This results in av longer time being required to fill the chamber i3 through the valve 5| than through the valve 55. This in time results in a longer closing operation for the valve l5 and a greater passage of water for the flushing operation. It will thus be seen that by changing the adjustment of the valves 5G and 5!, the amount of water for the flushing operations can be controlled.

Let us assume the handle 24 to be moved to the right in Fig. 3 which in Fig. 2 would be counterclockwise. As the bifurcated extensions 22, 22 are moved, the valve stem heads 49 and 48' will 'be respectively, pushed inwardly and pulled outwardly.

These two movements move the valves Q5 and ll so that they are on opposite sides of their respectively controlled outlet openings ll sc Simultaneously with the movement of the valves d5, ll, there is tension placed in the rod This opens the valve 28 by pulling on its stem 29, compressing the spring 33. As soon as the valve 23 opens, the pressure within the chamber l3 is released through the passage 28 into the chamber Within the cylindrical valve casing 25, past the open valve 28, out through: the passage i9 through the passage w and into the closet flush chamber (not shown), below the outlet 52. The pressure of the water line within the inlet iii, forces the piston is upwardly. Being of a greater cross section than the valve 55, the pressure on the upper surface of the valve It is overcome and the latter is opened to permit of the start of the flushing operation. The sizes of the passages Et W the valve 28, the piston id and the valve it are so related to each other that with the pressure used in the water supply, the chamber i3 will be quickly emptied.

Upon release of the handle 26, the spring 33 expands thus closing the valve 28 and by pulling on the valve stem 29, pulls the link 36 to return the crank arm 22 and the handle E i to its initial position. It might be here noted that whether the handle 25 is moved to right or left, one of the links 36, at will be caused to operate to open the valve 23, the link in which tension is applied being the one to function.

During this operation the other link because of the slotted ends 36 3% simply moves idly. It will also be noted that there is room for the bifurcated ends of the extensions 22, 22 to return to their initial positions without changing the maximum position of the valve caused by the positive operation of the handle 2Q.

After the return of the valve 28 to its seat with the consequent end of the egress of water from the chamber it, the latter immediately begins to fill through the inlet it, the passage W the valve opening 53*, the passage us the passage within the casing ii, the passage di and the passage us into the chamber it. As long as the chamber it is filling, the piston M will be moving downwardly and the valve it will be open. During the period when the valve IE is open, the flushing operation will continue to take place. As the valve it completely closes, all parts and the water resume a static condition.

When the handle 24 is operated in the opposite direction, a similar operation takes place with the water which refills the chamber l 3 being controlled by the valve 59 and the valve ll, the time of closing being in accordance with the setting of the valve 59.

It is thus seen that a plurality of selective amounts of water are at the disposal of the operator which permits of the correct amount of water being used without wasting the water as is necessary in using a type of flushing mechanism which must always be set for a maximum amount of water when perhaps half or" the times a much smaller amount is needed.

While I have illustrated and described one embodiment of my invention, I desire to have it understoodthat the illustration and description are merely exemplary and that modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, selectively operated control devices for operating the valve to deliver one of a plurality of selective predetermined quantities of water and manually operable means for selectively operating the control devices.

2. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, selectively operated control means for controlling the operation of the flush valve to deliver one of a plurality of selective predetermined quantities of water and manually operable means for selectively operating the control valve means.

3. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a plurality of selectively operated control valves for controlling the operation of the flush valve to deliver one of a plurality of selective predetermined quantities of water and manually operable means for selectively operating the control valves. 7

4. A no-tank flushing device comprising a singletflush valve, a plurality of selectively operated control valves for controlling the operation of the flush valve to deliver one of a plurality of selective predetermined quantities of water and a single manually operable means for selectively operating the control valves.

5. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a plurality of control valves for controlling the operation of the flush valve to deliver one of a plurality of selective predetermined quantities of water, a manually controlled lever and connections from the lever to the control Valves to operate them selectively by difierent movements of the manually controlled lever.

6. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a piston connected to the flush valve for moving the latter, a cylinder for the piston, a control valve for controlling the egress of Water from the cylinder and a plurality of control valve means for controlling the ingress of Water to the cylinder to at will selectively vary the time of closing of the flush valve and manually operable means for selectively operating the control valve and control valve means.

7 A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a piston connected to the flush valve for moving the latter, a cylinder for the piston, a control valve for controlling the egress of water from the cylinder, control valve means for controlling the ingress of water to the cylinder to selectively vary the time of closing of the flush valve, and manually operable means for operating the control valve and control valve means, connections between the control valve and the manually operable means to cause the operation of the control valve whenever the manually operable means is operated and means under selective control of the manually operable means to predeterminedly control the speed of closing of the flush valve.

8. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a piston connected to the hush valve for moving the latter, a cylinder for the piston, a control valve for controlling the egress of water from the cylinder and control valve means for controlling the ingress of water to the cylinder to selectively vary the time of closing of the flush valve and a single manually operable means having a plurality of movements to operate the control valve means selectively and connections from the manually operable means to the control valve to operate the latter when the former is moved.

9. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a water chamber having a movable wall connected to the flush valve for moving the latter, and means for controlling the movable wall, said controlling means including a valve for controlling the egress of fluid from the chamber and moving the movable wall to open the flush valve, and a plurality of selectively c0ntrolled valves and connections of different flow capacities to control the ingress of fluid to the chamber to move the movable wall in the opposite direction to close the flush valve and predeterminedly control the amount of water passing the flush valve.

10. A no-tank flushing device comprising 2.

single flush valve, a water chamber having a movable wall connected to the flush valve for moving the latter and means for controlling the movement of the movable wall, said controlling means including a valve for draining water from the chamber to cause opening of the flush valve and a plurality of selectively controlled valves and connections of different flow capacities to refill the chamber.

11. A no-tank flushing device comprising a single flush valve, a piston connected to the flush valve for moving the latter, a cylinder for the piston, and means for controlling the opening and closing of the flush valve by operation of the piston, said controlling means including a valve for draining water away from one side of the piston to open the flush valve and a plurality of selectively controlled valves having connections, of different flow capacities, to the cylinder, to close the flush valve.

CHARLES WATKINS BROWN. 

